Browsing by Subject "Guangxi"
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(2016)Globalization has remarkably redirected the flows of global forestry investment to developing countries since early 1990s, several leading multinational forest companies have established a huge area of Eucalyptus plantations in the past decades in Guangxi, China. Previous studies show that the establishment of Eucalyptus plantations has both positive and negative effects on rural environment and communities’ livelihoods, but few of these studies have highlighted the local communities’ perspective. This study aims to assess how the local communities perceive ecosystem services and their livelihoods after the intense land use changes to provide a deeper understanding of the impacts for companies operating or investing in the region, moreover, it also aims to complement the previous studies on forest industry managers’ perception on plantation forestry and ecosystem services in the context of China. With the guidance of two qualitative questionnaires, 5 village-level and 80 villager-level semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data in villages near Eucalyptus plantations. The results indicate that from local communities’ perspective, the establishment of Eucalyptus plantations has degraded ecosystem services, especially soil fertility, water quantity and quality, the local livelihoods have been however diversified to some extent. Some managerial implications concerning community engagement are provided according to the findings so that the forest companies can achieve better business performance in Guangxi and similar areas in future.
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(2020)Since the 1990s, globalization effects have driven forest investments to developing economies, establishing industrial plantations of Eucalyptus in areas such as Guangxi in China. The different ecosystem services, from which local communities benefit, are facing deterioration. This happens partly due to the replacement of natural forests for industrial commercial plantations. Previous research has shown that the establishment of such plantations has both positive and negative effects on the environment and the livelihoods of rural communities. Nevertheless, the local communities’ perspective is lacking in most of these studies. The research surrounding the villagers and their perceptions is especially relevant in the case of China, where land cannot be bought by private companies and has to be leased from either the state or individual household collectives. This study firstly aims to identify how are demographic variables (gender factor, age and education level) likely to affect the decision to lend land to the forest company in a tree plantation area. Secondly, the study examines how people’s perception of changes, which occurred in the ecosystem services after the establishment of the forest plantations, varies according to these demographic variables. Responses to a qualitative questionnaire to 70 residents were used for the research. The results indicate that men are more likely to lease land than women. Besides, men and women perceive the changes in the ecosystem services in a different way. Such disparity can be explained by the differentiated role that women play in forest activities in China comparing to men.
Now showing items 1-2 of 2